Safety & Security: Spectator Safety

As is often the case in law, how the courts interpret a statute is often the determining factor in the case. For example, California Building Standards Code (CBSC) states that the top of guardrails shall not be less than 42 inches in height, except in front of the first row of fixed balcony seats. In that case, the top of the guardrail may be 26 inches in height.

The Northwestern athletic department has announced it will hold three peanut-free football games in 2014, including games against Cal on Aug. 30, Northern Illinois on Sept. 6 and Western Illinois on Sept. 20.

It is widely acknowledged that the role of high school athletics is to promote life-skills education through sports, but lately a key life skill in this equation — sportsmanship — has deteriorated on the interscholastic level to the point that one high school athletic association recently considered banning the time-honored post-game handshake.

If you've never considered the safety risks of a professional security guard, placing them at a sporting venue where they are significantly outnumbered is an excellent research lab. Because of the sheer quantity of people, the passion for their teams and the probability of alcohol consumption, sports leagues recommend one security guard for every 250 visitors in a venue. Assigning the proper number of security personnel is a deliberate balance of operational efficiency, cost and visitor safety, which makes proper skills training and equipment for the job an essential consideration in limiting a venue's liability.

No one anticipated — no one could have anticipated — what happened on that day," recalls Boston Police Commissioner William Evans. An avid runner with more than 40 marathons under his belt, including last year's Boston Marathon, Evans has been preparing harder for this year's Boston Marathon than any other race he's run. But unlike previous years, his morning runs with a member of the Boston Athletic Association aren't meant as training for his participation in the race; they are meant as preparation for his more daunting task of protecting the race.

It's a situation any administrator or facilities professional dreads: a court-storming gone wrong. And that's exactly what happened Thursday night in Orem, Utah, after Utah Valley knocked off New Mexico State to remain atop the standings in the Western Athletic Conference.

More than 20 years have passed since the infamous "Camp Randall Crush," the 1993 field-storming by University of Wisconsin students after a win over Michigan that left more than 70 fans injured. Response to the incident by the school and its hired security team was widely criticized, resulted in 15 lawsuits and put the spotlight on crowd control procedures at stadiums and arenas.

A fan who attempted to slide down the side railing of the 300 deck at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, only to topple backwards and land on a fan in the 200 level, has fallen out of favor with the hometown Bills. As a result of his actions Sunday, the fan has been banned from the stadium.